


The Snow Witness

by HoneyBeeez



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: BONDING TIME WITH THE BASEBALL BOYS, M/M, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, Snowball Fight, Snowmen, Surprises, THE BOYS ARE BACK AND SCHEMING and abe somehow got roped into it, also hello hi abby im youre secret santa i hope you like it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 23:53:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9044855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyBeeez/pseuds/HoneyBeeez
Summary: Abe learned two things that day: Mihashi's hand is really warm in his, and you should never let baseball players have a snowball fight.
~In which the boys decide to celebrate Christmas together to surprise Mihashi, and Abe doesn't know if this plan is a good thing or not.~





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [latorgator](https://archiveofourown.org/users/latorgator/gifts).



> Hello everyone!  
> This is what i gots for Oofuri Secret Santa! I hope you like it!

Abe tugs on his grey scarf nervously as he waits at the door, taking a jab at the doorbell one last time to get his point across.

Snow was falling from the sky slowly, gracefully, in the way it always falls during sappy Christmas movies where the protagonist gets the girl and lives happily ever after.

He guesses, after careful consideration, that this doesn’t look too far off from that.

Abe has finally convinced Mihashi to go on a date with him, and, in retrospect, it’s not even a _real date_.

When the plan was hatched, it was simple, quick, and supposedly fun and painless. Then again, this _was_ Tajima and Izumi’s masterpiece they were talking about and it was on _paper_. He didn’t think he would play the trivial role in actually getting this to _work_.

He’s acutely aware of the seconds ticking by and the snowflakes that find themselves in his hair. It takes all his willpower to not ruffle them away. It’s not long until Mihashi is cracking the front door open, smiling a centimeter, and slipping through the door before closing it after him.

“Hi,” he chirps quietly, his voice muffled by a striped, orange scarf but gloriously free from his usual stutter.

“Hey,” Abe says back articulately, not really sure what to do now that he’s _here_. It’s daunting and a little bit scary, awkwardly together on the porch with the thought of _a date_ over their heads, but it’s a good thing Abe doesn’t have to make the next move out of his own free will, or else they would have been standing there for centuries. He clears his throat. “You ready to go?”

“Mmhm!” Mihashi hums, nodding a bit before hesitantly taking Abe’s mitten-clad hand. Abe is thoroughly shocked for a solid five seconds, and right when Mihashi’s hand twitchs, thinking of retracting, he squeezes lightly in reassurance, and cracks what he hopes is a cheerful grin.

“Let’s go, then.”

* * *

 

The plan, in and of itself, was simple: get Mihashi to the park without tipping him off, and then surprise him with a remarkably simple early-Christmas party that would include, thankfully, snowball fights, snowmen, possible group hugs, and copious amounts of hot chocolate afterwards. The one snag in it was, well, getting him there.

They came up with several ideas, some being calling Mihashi there for an impromptu baseball practice or to help rescue a stray puppy from the cold, but that would only leave him feeling let down (because of the lack of baseball) or terrified (because of the prospect of a dog). They were stumped until Izumi, sarcastically, _sadistically_ , suggested that Abe asked him out and took him to them.

The laughs and agreements that exploded afterwards sealed Abe’s fate. And now, here he is, holding Mihashi’s gloved hand as they stroll down the snowy street.

“W-where are we going?” Mihashi asks, the catch in his voice from the cold and probably nothing else. Abe has to stifle a laugh at his curiosity.

“It’s a surprise,” he replies easily, not exactly lying, and smiles when the reply elicits a soft groan from the blond next to him.

Abe tried mentioning that he sucks at acting and practically all things _Mihashi_. They didn’t listen, and told him he would have asked him out himself sooner or later.

The only thing he could think in response was, “ _Would I?_ ”

Mihashi gives a confused squeak when he realizes they’re heading towards the park and eyes Abe a little suspiciously. The snow picks up, the flurry of falling flakes thickening just slightly, although not enough to cause worry. Abe has to look away from him or else he'd give everything away immediately. He can’t take that look, something expectant yet nervous and a little bit excited all at the same time, and Abe doesn’t know if he can take that _and_ the context in which it is given, with their hands clasped and a small smile unwaveringly on Mihashi's face despite the uncertainty.

Mihashi clearly thinks this is an actual date while Abe is dizzingly confused as to if he would want to replicate this  _for real_ in the future.

“What’s… why are we…?” Mihashi asks, digging his heels into the snow and stopping them from going any further. Abe turns, expecting there to be a concerned look on his face, but instead, Mihashi just looks amused. _Excited_ , even. Abe has to smile at his enthusiasm and tugs on his hand, trying to get him moving again.

“We’re almost there, c’mon,” Abe says, trying to appease him but also get him to the spot he agreed to meet the rest of the team at because they were _right there_ -

“Tell me,” Mihashi says, unwillingly taking a step forward and hiding his smile behind his scarf.

“No,” Abe says, shaking his head and squeezing his hand once more. “It wouldn’t really be a surprise if I-”

“W-watch out-!” Mihashi stutters, pulling on his hand, but it’s too late.

Abe’s shoulder is hit with something _hard_ , and suddenly splotches of _cold_ sticks to his face and steals his breath away for a short moment. It takes him less than a second to realize what’s going on, and he immediately drops Mihashi’s hand.

“ _Hey_!” he yells, taking a menacing step forward toward the picnic tables that he _knows_ are right around the corner. A chorus of laughter erupts from the general area.

“Abe, what…” Mihashi trails off, but only because another snowball flies through the air, its arc wide and directly for them. Mihashi scuttles off to the side with a small squeak, and the snowball lands where his stood moments earlier.

“THIS MEANS WAR!” Abe shouts, smiling widely as he crouches down and gathers bunches of snow in his hands.

“W-War?!” Mihashi echoes, looking at him curiously.

“Bring it, old man!” an excited voice explodes, so undoubtedly drenched in energy that it could only belong to Tajima. Sure enough, a second later, Tajima and Sakaeguchi run out from behind the bend, bright red Santa hats perched on the top of their heads and handfuls of already-made snowballs cradled in their hands.

Mihashi screams with glee, and it’s all downhill from there.

There was no more comradery, there was no more _teammates_ , or _outfielders_ , or _infielders_ , or _battery_. There was only friends and _snow_. Abe found it difficult to keep up amidst the hurdled snow and the shouts of laughter, snide comments, or exclamations of shock. This was nothing like the snowball fights he had with Shun when they were younger, this was _to the death_.

Not to mention they dedicated hours upon hours for the past years perfecting their ability to throw with accuracy and force.

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all.

Mihashi is having the time of his life, though. The grin on his face as he gathers more snow and throws it at the closest person (poor, poor Nishihiro) makes Abe’s breath snag in his chest.

“Eyes up, lover-boy!” Suyama jeers as he pegs Abe in the shoulder.

After what feels like an eternity, the snowballs slow in frequency. Sakaeguchi is the first to fall, deliberately falling backwards into the snow and laying there with a silly smile on his face. Soon, everyone follows. What results is a pile of cold and slightly damp limbs tangled together. There was no rhyme or reason to their pile, but Abe finds himself sandwiched between Mihashi and Suyama anyways.

“D-did you… plan this?” Mihashi asks slowly, deliberately keeping his eyes off Abe until he's said what he needed to. The small upturn on his lips is priceless. Abe tries to ignore the deliberate nudge Suyama gives to the small of his back.

“We all did,” Abe says, smiling back just a smidge and ignoring the way Izumi snickers from the other side of Suyama. Mihashi’s expression is replaced with one of confusion. “We thought it would be a good way to kick off Christmas break, since we don’t have practice until school starts up again.”

“But what about-?” Mihashi starts to ask when Sakaeguchi scooches a little closer and places his hand on Mihashi’s head.

“Abe wanted to take you out, too,” he says in a smallish voice, his voice lowered so only Mihashi would hear, but the words float over and make Abe redden even more than the snow has already.

“He was just too scared to ask you first, so we gave him something to start with!” Tajima jeers, and everyone laughs.

“R-Really?” Mihashi asks through the sound of their teammates’ laughter. Abe, not trusting his voice to be stable or his brain to think of something that would help, only nods in response. Mihashi’s face breaks into a grin that would outshine the sun if it was actually out.

Nishihiro rolls away from the pile and starts making a snowman, goading everyone else to join in. Mihashi clambers to his feet in an instant, helping him pack snow and stack them on top of each other. Abe smiles as everyone else gets to their feet to join in, when something furry and _red_ drops onto his head. His hands fly to it immediately.

“Leave it on,” Hanai hisses indiscreetly, smiling at little when Abe’s mouth hangs open in disbelief.

Why everyone must be clad in Santa hats, he’ll never know, but they were at least better than baseball caps in the warmth department.

“ABE!” multiple voices call out a second later, making Abe snap his head to the side and look around. Suyama, Mihashi, Sakaeguchi, and Tajima were waving him over.

“HANAI, YOU TOO!” Tajima screeches.

Abe and Hanai give each other a look before they jog over.

“We’re making a giant snowman, and you guys have to help up lift the body balls!” Tajima says triumphantly.

“Don’t say ‘body balls,’” Hanai dismisses, giving Tajima a slightly glare.

“I’ll call them what I want to!” Tajima says, sticking his tongue out at him before turning around. “Now help us grab the balls!”

“ _Stop saying it like that_!”

“Why do we have to help?” Abe muses as Tajima, Mihashi, and Hanai arrange themselves around the first, medium sized snowball.

“You three are the biggest ones on the team,” Sakaeguchi says, giving Suyama’s and Abe’s shoulders a pat while jutting his chin out towards Hanai. “We need all the help we can get.”

“But why a giant snowman?” Abe asks.

“We should put angry eyebrows on it and name it ‘Abe Number Two,’” Suyama jests, and Saakaeguchi bursts out laughing while Abe glares at him.

“I won’t help,” he threatens.

“You will,” Suyama practically sings.

He does. When the snowman in built, he stands a little bit taller than Hanai and has a Santa hat perched on the top of his head. Mihashi grins up at it as Tajima whoops and hollers, calling everyone to look at it even though everyone was already staring in awe.

“Merry Christmas!” Tajima practically yells as he gathers Mihashi up in a bear hug. Sakaeguchi laughs and joins in.

And then everyone is hugging, right in front of a monstrous snowman as if it’s looking down and watching over them, smiling and laughing a little, their hug so lopsided that it swayed every time someone moved a little to either side. Nishihiro ran off a little ways way and took a selfie with the hug in the background before turning around and taking a decent photo of all of them.

The mood was broken when Sakaeguchi, of all people, _sneezed the loudest sneeze in the history of ever_ , right in the middle of the hug.

“I guess it’s a little cold,” Sakaeguchi said as an excuse after everyone laughed at his sneeze-turned-scream.

“Yeah, I can barely feel my hands…” Mizutani mutters thoughtfully, looking at his gloved hands like they somehow offended his entire existence.

“Time for hot chocolate?” Izumi pipes up as the hug breaks apart, looking a tad bit hopeful.

“Hot chocolate!” Tajima and Oki exclaim, smiling widely.

“Y-you guys thought of everything,” Mihashi says quietly, pulling on Abe’s sleeve as they march away from the park. Abe can’t think of what to say in response, so he grins and shrugs instead.

“WAIT, WAIT!” Nishihiro exclaims, whirling around the looking at Mihashi hopefully. “It _is_ okay if we make hot chocolate at your house, right Mihashi?” They all stop at his words and all blink owlishly at him. Izumi, Mizutani, and Sakaeguchi slap their palms to their foreheads.

“ _Almost_ everything,” Hanai says, adding onto what Mihashi said less then seconds earlier. “We thought of _almost_ everything.”

“I’ve got all the stuff, if that makes anything better,” Oki chirps, hiking a backpack a little higher onto his shoulder. Mihashi blinks before he nods and smiles a minuscule smile.

“T-there’s… my parents… shopping, so it’s… okay!” Mihashi manages to get out, teeth chattering slightly because of the cold that’s just settling in, apparently. There’s apparent sighs of relief, and then they’re walking again, talking casually about this and that as they make their way to Mihashi’s house.

* * *

 

Thirty minutes later, they’re sitting in Mihashi living room with their hot chocolate, some holding mugs gingerly as the rest of them slurp out of bowls. (Tajima insisted he could drink hot chocolate out of an actual cup, but in the process of trying he ended up scalded not only his tongue but his fingers as well. He was quickly swayed and demoted to a bowl.) The T.V. was on, playing an old cartoon that everyone vaguely remembered and laughed at all the same.

It was… like a little family of Santas, Abe thinks, looking at how they were all still wearing their Christmas hats, and instantly holds back his laughter. Suyama gives him a little look of confusion, his expression clearly saying what his mouth won’t, which he guesses is something along the lines of “what the heck are you laughing about?” Abe only shakes his head at him.

They stay for hours, watching T.V., whining about practice and homework over break, and tossing a baseball around that Mizutani found underneath the couch. It’s only when the sun is about to start setting and a public broadcast pops up onto the screen, saying that a blizzard is starting soon, that they think of going back home.

There’s an overwhelming amount of hugs and goodbyes, everyone making sure they said goodbye to everyone properly, and Abe has to stop and think about since when they all were so… _close_. It’s weird, how far they’ve come in such a short time.

Soon, Abe’s the last one at the door, Mihashi standing awkwardly next to him, and he feels a sudden surge of déjà vu that he can’t help but associate with earlier that afternoon.

“I… should be heading out, too,” Abe says, hand reaching into his pocket and grabbing his gloves.

“Wait!” Mihashi cries, voice to loud to be considered normal. Abe freezes. Mihashi, realizing that he has his attention, wrings his fingers into the hem of his shirt. “I, uhm, thank you. For today.”

“I didn’t do much,” Abe admits, rubbing the back of his neck, “but I had fun, too.” Mihashi brightens at that, so much so that literal stars almost shine in his eyes.

“Would you-! Uhm, later…” Mihashi stumbles over his words in his haste to spit them out, and, embarrassed, he breaks off. Thankfully, Abe doesn’t need Tajima around all the time anymore to understand him.

“You want to do something together over break?” he supplies, and Mihashi nods feverishly, not meeting his eyes. “Sure,” he says in response, and Mihashi looks up at him with a look of disbelief on his face. “I’ve… got to get going. See you later?”

“Yeah!” Mihashi says, smiling widely. “B-Bye Abe!”

After a couple more awkward goodbyes, Abe finally heads home, and if he hides his grin behind his scarf the whole walk home, then there’s no one to vouch for it except the snow.

**Author's Note:**

> ...... does anyone get the title...? Snow? Sole? they kinda sound the same? a little? i thought it was kind of clever but dont mind me.  
>  ANYWAYS!~ thank you so much for reading! Abby, i hope you liked it, and i hope you have an amazing holiday season!  
> I love you all! Happy Holidays!  
> -HB


End file.
